OBJECTIVE To describe in detail the methods followed in each of the qualitative and quantitative surveys of national health information, research and knowledge systems and research institutions. DESIGN Cross-sectional surveys. SETTING National health information and research systems, and 847 health research institutions in 42 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region. ...

Improving health systems performance in order to achieve good health care outcomes and meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has received increased global attention. Using the World Health Organization (WHO)'s framework on health system strengthening, an overview is presented of key aspects of performance of the South African (SA) health system that are likely to impact on the Disease Co...

cholera epidemics have a recorded history in eastern congo dating to 1971. a study was conducted to find out the linkage between climate variability/change and cholera outbreak and to assess the related economic cost in the management of cholera in congo.this study integrates historical data (20 years) on temperature and rainfall with the burden of disease from cholera in south-kivu province, e...

introduction: information technology might have some potential effects, such as influencing treatment process, rate and easiness of information retrieval, and information availability for making clinical decisions based on conditions and management, educational and research activities on health service systems. recognizing these effects can be concerned as a foundation to strategic planning in ...

a major constraint to the application of any form of knowledge and principles is the awareness, understanding and acceptance of the knowledge and principles. systems thinking (st) is a way of understanding and thinking about the nature of  health systems and how to make and implement decisions within health systems to maximize desired and minimize undesired effects. a major constraint to applyi...

Recent theoretical and empirical studies of the social determinants of health inequities have shown that economic deprivation, multiple levels of racism, and neighborhood context limit African American health chances and that African Americans' poor health status is predicated on unequal opportunity to achieve the American Dream. President Obama's election has been touted as a demonstration of ...

The social determinants unique to African-American men's health contribute to limited access and utilization of health and mental health care services and can have a deleterious effect on their overall health and well-being. There is a need to examine the complex issues concerning African-American men's help-seeking behaviors relative to mental health concerns. Current research estimates that A...

international health is still highly dominated by equilibrium approaches. the emergence of systems thinking in international health provides a great avenue to develop innovative health interventions adapted to changing contexts. the public health community, nevertheless, has the responsibility to translate concepts related to systems thinking and complexity into concrete research methods and in...

BACKGROUND Even though Africa has the highest disease burden compared with other regions, it has the lowest per capita spending on health. In 2007, 27 (51%) out the 53 countries spent less than US$50 per person on health. Almost 30% of the total health expenditure came from governments, 50% from private sources (of which 71% was from out-of-pocket payments by households) and 20% from donors. Th...

BACKGROUND Access to electricity is critical to health care delivery and to the overarching goal of universal health coverage. Data on electricity access in health care facilities are rarely collected and have never been reported systematically in a multi-country study. We conducted a systematic review of available national data on electricity access in health care facilities in sub-Saharan Afr...